Former Football Kenya (FKF) President Sam Nyamweya has released a statement to congratulate Harambee Stars for their two ‘brave’ performances against Gambia and Gabon in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

After coming from behind to draw 3-3 against the Scorpions of Gambia in a Group F fixture, Harambee Stars returned home to lose 2-1 courtesy of a double from talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in either half of the match played at a sold-out Nyayo Stadium.

Here is the full statement;

I want to take this earliest opportunity to congratulate the Kenya national team Harambee Stars for their amazing performances in the two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures against Gambia and Gabon respectively.

Against Gambia and despite playing away, Harambee Stars showed a lot of character to recover twice from behind and earn a dramatic 3-3 draw in a six goal thriller. The team should have won the match had they converted their chances, they showed they can fight and getting a draw from the fixture was no mean achievement.

Then against Gabon, the performance from the boys was exceptional despite going down 2-1. It is very unfortunate that Kenya lost against Gabon, in fact the best the game should have ended was a draw. It is not lost yet, Gabon was the better team and with the kind of experience they have in their squad, they were bound to walk away with a win.

However, Kenya’s defence was a little bit shaky and it is something that must be addressed in readiness for future assignments. All said and done, I want to urge Kenyans across the country to continue supporting the team, and keep the trust in coach Benni McCarthy.

I have a strong belief that the South African gaffer has what it takes to take us places, and looking at the two matches, which came barely a week after he was named the coach, and only managing to train the team for three days, shows that with enough time with the team, we are bound to see good results.

My humble appeal is to the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to give McCarthy and his technical bench a free hand to do his job. We should allow him to execute his work without interference from any quarters.

With Kenya hopes of qualifying for their first-ever World Cup looking slim, I want to implore upon McCarthy to use the remaining four qualification fixtures to prepare the squad for the upcoming 2024 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) and the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Let local players be given the opportunity to play, as this will help the coach to start building a formidable team for the tournaments that Kenya will co-host alongside Uganda and Tanzania.

Finally, I can’t sign out without questioning why Gor Mahia players were missing from the Kenya squad for the two qualifiers. I believe it was very wrong for the players to ignore a call-up by the new coach, so as to participate in other tournaments that no one is aware of.

There is no tournament in any country that is superior to the World Cup qualifiers or even AFCON qualifiers. I want to hope that the issue will be solved, so that Harambee Stars can pull forward as a one nation.